According to recently published research, this is the first time a cephalopod has been observed forming a complete burrow beneath the sand.

"It actually was a pocket – like a space that the octopus could sit within," Jasper Montana of the University of Melbourne told New Scientist. "So it was a true burrow."

While it sounds simple in theory, the process of creating the burrow is quite complex, requiring the octopus to use its arms to create a "chimney" to breathe through and solidify the walls of the chamber with a layer of mucus.

This subterranean burrowing is thought to be another form of protection from predators, especially since the southern sand octopus is lacking the camouflage abilities other octopuses have.

"This is another amazing example of how octopuses continue to surprise us with their intelligence -- and ingenuity," Katherine Harmon Courage, author of the book Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea, told The Huffington Post in an email. "To find an octopus that builds a custom subterranean den in the sand (even if it's made partially out of mucus!) is very cool."